Health News 04/2018

A woman in Florida got the surprise of her life when what she thought was a bout of bad Chinese food turned out to be a baby. Crystal Gail Amerson said that she thought she was suffering from food poisoning on early Sunday when she woke up due to ...(Apr 1, 2018, Immortal News)

Coffee stamped safe by cancer experts

Ever since a judge in California passed a ruling where it mandated coffee companies to include a cancer warning label on their products, the world has been taken by an uproar. However, cancer experts have taken up the case and stamped coffee as cancer ...(Apr 1, 2018, Business Standard)

Stepping up public release of drug data online could help Ohioans

The most dangerous time for Columbus heroin addicts is not a typical party time: 6 p.m. on Thursdays. For those in Cincinnati, it's 3 p.m. on Wednesdays, and in Akron, 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. In a few Ohio cities, online interactive databases now let ...(Apr 1, 2018, The Columbus Dispatch)

Addiction Rehab is Broken. Can Technology Fix It?

My time in rehab for an opioid addiction left me humiliated and desperate to know why my friends were dying. Now a wave of app developers are trying to do things differently. Author: Zachary Siegel BY Zachary Siegel. My dad's company had season tickets ...(Apr 1, 2018, WIRED)

The newest teen challenge: Snorting condoms

Another internet challenge has some parents on alert and just about everyone's eyebrows standing straight up. Author: WCNC. Published: 10:32 PM CDT March 30, 2018. Updated: 10:32 PM CDT March 30, 2018. Another internet challenge has some parents on ...(Apr 1, 2018, KHOU.com)

Battling Heroin With A Hearse And A Prayer

Our Take A Number is looking at problems around the world — and people trying to solve them — through the lens of a single number. In Huntington, W.Va., the number is 10. As in, the rate of babies born with a drug dependency there is 10 times the ...(Apr 1, 2018, NPR)

Cooking classes aim to restore health after addiction

In this Thursday, March 15, 2018, photo, registered dietician Tracey Burg, the head chef of The Teaching Kitchen, left, and Felicha Young prepare a meal during a "Cooking for Recovery" class at the Boston Medical Center in Boston. The hospital offers ...(Apr 1, 2018, ABC News)

This Birth Control Device Kept Making Women Sick. The FDA Kept It On The Market.

Melissa Davis Gilbert talks with her husband, Dan, before surgery to remove her fallopian tubes and uterus on May 24, 2017 in Rockville, Maryland. Gilbert had a hysterectomy to remove her Essure device due to worsening symptoms. Last month, Food and ...(Apr 1, 2018, HuffPost)

Hospitals are germy, noisy places. Some acutely ill patients are getting treated at home instead.

Phyllis Petruzzelli spent the week before Christmas struggling to breathe. When she went to the emergency department on Dec. 26, the doctor at Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital near her home in Boston said she had pneumonia and needed ...(Apr 1, 2018, Washington Post)

Center for Family Health column: Diabetes can be prevented or controlled

JACKSON, MI - Diabetes case numbers continue to grow in the United States, but for many people the disease can be prevented or put under control. People with diabetes have high blood sugar levels because their pancreases do not produce enough of the ...(Apr 1, 2018, MLive.com)

Reader: Kratom Saved My Life From a Heroin Addiction

The debate over kratom's effectiveness continues. After Denver banned the herbal substance, supporters came out in droves to advocate for the plant that some say can ween people off opioids. Others claim that it is an addictive, overhyped substance ...(Apr 1, 2018, Westword)

Synthetic Pot In Illinois Causing Severe Bleeding From Eyes And Ears

State health officials on edge as multiple fake weed users are admitted to area hospitals with strange symptoms never before reported. Synthetic pot wreaking havoc in Illinois Spencer Platt / Getty Images Health. John Houck. State health officials on ...(Apr 1, 2018, The Inquisitr)

Consumer DNA Tests Are Wrong 40 Percent of the Time

Just because you can conduct at-home DNA testing without the advice of a doctor doesn't mean you should. As people take a more proactive role in their health care, direct-to-consumer (DTC) kits have become increasingly popular. Companies like 23andMe ...(Apr 1, 2018, Geek)

Are teenagers snorting condoms in the latest viral 'challenge'?

While some teenagers across the country are creating movements like #NeverAgain and organizing marches for a cause, other teenagers are doing incredible (and sometimes stupid) things to get likes, views, and followers on social media — all in the hope ...(Apr 1, 2018, Yahoo News)

Eugene Nurse Finds Kidney Donor Through Billboard

Roxanne Loomis is a Eugene nurse whose need for a kidney transplant lead her to rent a billboard on Interstate 5 south of Eugene. Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard. For Eugene resident Roxanne Loomis, seven is her lucky number. Her birthday is on the ...(Apr 1, 2018, OPB News)

The Regulars: For East Bay mushroom hunter, it's not simply fun with fungi

Most people dread rainy days, but Alan Rockefeller revels in them. Rockefeller, 40, works in cybersecurity to pay the bills. But his true passion emerges after a downpour, when the wooded areas of the East Bay pop up with molds and mushrooms. Media ...(Apr 1, 2018, San Francisco Chronicle)

1 dead as outbreak related to synthetic pot use hits 38 people in Illinois

Because makers often change the formulas of their products, it is difficult to know what chemicals synthetic cannabinoids contain or what a user's reaction will be. Elvia MalagonContact ReporterChicago Tribune. At least one person has died in Illinois ...(Apr 1, 2018, Chicago Tribune)

Why are teens snorting condoms? Here are five things to know about latest online fad

While it sounds like an April Fool's joke, educators are warning about a “condom challenge” being spread online by YouTube videos and social media. Also known as the “snorting condom challenge” or “condom-snorting challenge,” the fad actually dates ...(Apr 1, 2018, Sacramento Bee)

Postnatal maternal diet can significantly affect a woman's postpartum mental health, according to Singapore's ongoing GUSTO (Growing Up Strong Towards Healthy Outcomes) study. In Asia, maternal diet in the first month after birth, also called the ...(Apr 2, 2018, FoodNavigator-Asia.com)

'A family disease': Mother starts Lincoln support group for families of opioid addicts

A Lincoln mother has started a support group to help bring out of isolation other local families who are struggling with a relative's opioid addiction. Brenda Moes held the first Lincoln meeting of Parents of Addicted Loved Ones, or PAL, March 27, and ...(Apr 2, 2018, Lincoln Journal Star)

Parents, doctors hope 'Light It Up Blue' will bring autism awareness

"Knowing that this is your job now, you're the advocate and you have to do everything to make sure your child's life is easier," says Lisa Litvag, whose son has autism. Author: Christina Coleman. Published: 11:17 PM CDT April 1, 2018. Updated: 11:19 PM ...(Apr 2, 2018, KSDK.com)

The Afghan boy arrived at the U.S. military hospital in Kandahar with severe burns from the chest down. He was about 5. "I knew as soon as I saw him it was just too much surface area," says Kit Parker, who, at the time, was an Army Civil Affairs ...(Apr 2, 2018, NPR)

Scientists Say You May Live Longer By Severely Restricting Calories

Research has shown that sharp reductions in the amount of food consumed can help fish, rats, and monkeys live longer. But there have been very few studies in humans. Now, some researchers have found that when people severely cut calories, they can slow ...(Apr 2, 2018, NPR)

Sewage leaks in operating rooms still plagued Washington's hospital for VIPs, reports show

Viral videos posted on social media show teenagers snorting condoms as part of a so-called "condom snorting challenge." In the videos, teens put an unwrapped condom up one of their nostrils and inhale until the condom comes out of their mouth. Like ...(Apr 2, 2018, USA TODAY)

World Autism Awareness Day 2018: 13 Quotes Of Hope To Share

April 2 is marked as World Autism Awareness Day, adopted by the United Nations in 2007 to highlight the growing health crisis globally. Every year, Autism Speaks — an advocacy organization in the U.S. founded in 2005 — celebrates with the campaign ...(Apr 2, 2018, International Business Times)

Cocaine returns to Central New York in shadows of opioid epidemic

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Cocaine is making a comeback in Central New York in the shadows of the opioid drug epidemic. The number of people seeking treatment for cocaine addiction at Crouse Hospital jumped 66 percent between 2015 and 2017. Cocaine deaths in ...(Apr 2, 2018, Syracuse.com)

Science Says: What we know about cancer risk and coffee

In this 2017 file photo, a barista pours steamed milk in a coffee at a cafe in Los Angeles. Associated Press. Facebook · Twitter · Email; Print; Save. Trouble is brewing for coffee lovers in California, where a judge ruled that sellers must post scary ...(Apr 2, 2018, Carlisle Sentinel)

Up To 40 Percent Of Direct-To-Consumer DNA Tests Are Wrong

Direct-to-consumer DNA testing kits shouldn't be treated as diagnostic tools. A new study claims to have found that these kits have a 40 percent false positive rate, indicating the importance of having raw DNA data properly analyzed by labs. ( Mohamed ...(Apr 2, 2018, Tech Times)

Dozens of tourists taken to Washington, DC, hospital for food poisoning

Dozens of people were taken to the hospital after some reported having symptoms of food poisoning Sunday night. (DC Fire and EMS). More than 50 people on a trip from New York to Washington, D.C., were taken to the hospital Sunday night after about a ...(Apr 2, 2018, Fox News)

(CNN) Experts have proposed using medical marijuana to help Americans struggling with opioid addiction. Now, two studies suggest that there is merit to that strategy. The studies, published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, compared opioid ...(Apr 2, 2018, CNN)

People Are Wearing Blue Today for Autism Awareness Day

Volunteers holding blue umbrellas walk for 5 kilometers with no speaking on the World Autism Awareness Day at Pujiang County on April 2, 2017 in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province of China. VCG—VCG via Getty Images. By Alix Langone. 11:21 AM EDT. TIME Health ...(Apr 2, 2018, TIME)

Lad, 19, left paralysed and needing 24/7 care after swallowing SLUG for a dare

A TEEN who swallowed a slug for a dare was left as a quadriplegic after developing a deadly disease. 0. By Anthony Blair / Published 2nd April 2018. Play Video. Play. Mute. 0:00. /. 0:00. Loaded: 0%. Progress: 0%. Stream TypeLIVE. 0:00. Share. Playback ...(Apr 2, 2018, Daily Star)

Mecklenburg Medical Group sues Atrium Health to split from hospital system

Mecklenburg Medical Group sued Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health in an effort to sever ties and operate independently of the region's dominant health system, according to The Charlotte Observer. In the lawsuit filed April 2, Mecklenburg Medical ...(Apr 2, 2018, Becker's Hospital Review)

In case you missed the 'condom-snorting challenge' — and didn't know it's a bad idea

Imagine uncoiling a condom and stuffing it up one side of your nose, then plugging the other nostril and inhaling until the long piece of latex slides into your throat. Then what? You reach back and pull it from your mouth. Why would someone do that ...(Apr 2, 2018, Washington Post)

Why the 'Condom Snorting Challenge' Is Not Just Gross — It's Dangerous

Getting teens to use condoms is usually a good thing — unless they plan on snorting them up their noses. That would be a really bad idea. But some teens are reportedly doing just that: In videos posted on social media, teens are inhaling condoms up ...(Apr 2, 2018, Live Science)

Popular gay dating app Grindr has been sharing users' HIV statuses with third parties without informing users, BuzzFeed reported Monday. Researchers at Norwegian nonprofit SINTEF found that the popular hookup app had shared sensitive personal ...(Apr 2, 2018, Gizmodo)

Estonia Is Taking a Page from 23andMe to Offer DNA-Based Health Advice to Citizens

From its perch on the Baltic Sea, the tiny former Soviet nation of Estonia has become an unlikely leader in all things digital. Its government has already embraced blockchain, declared Internet access a basic human right, and embarked on a massive ...(Apr 2, 2018, Gizmodo)

Two deaths, 54 other cases of severe bleeding tied to fake weed in Illinois

(CNN) Synthetic cannabinoids -- often called Spice, K2 or fake weed -- have been tied to 56 cases of severe bleeding, including two deaths, across Chicago and areas in central Illinois. All of the cases required hospitalization related to coughing up ...(Apr 2, 2018, CNN)

Grindr Is Letting Other Companies See User HIV Status And Location Data

A data analysis conducted by an outside research firm, and independently verified by BuzzFeed News, shows that a popular gay dating app is sharing sensitive information about its users' HIV status with two other companies. Posted on April 2, 2018, at 8 ...(Apr 2, 2018, BuzzFeed News)

'Juuling': Inside the Possibly Hazardous Smoking Craze Among Teens

The viral craze is named after the vaping device, The JUUL, which is intended to help adults kick cigarettes. The JUUL delivers nicotine and looks like a flash drive. It can actually be placed into the USB port of a computer to be charged. But “Juuling ...(Apr 2, 2018, NBC4i.com)

Giving Babies Antibiotics or Antacids May Increase Allergy Risk

Babies given antibiotics or antacids in infancy may be at increased risk for allergies in childhood. Researchers retrospectively studied 792,130 infants covered by a health insurance program. Of these, 131,708 received antibiotics, 60,209 got histamine ...(Apr 2, 2018, New York Times)

Grindr Responds to Privacy Criticism by Saying It's a 'Public Forum'

Gay dating app Grindr, responding to a BuzzFeed report that it sent sensitive user data – including HIV status, location and email – to at least two third-party services, said the data sharing is “standard” in the industry and pointed out the company ...(Apr 2, 2018, Bloomberg)

VERIFY: Is Rep. Allen Peake violating cannabis law?

Federal law prohibits taking any form of marijuana across state lines, and right now, there's nowhere to buy it in Georgia. Author: WMAZ. Published: 6:30 PM EDT April 2, 2018. Updated: 7:23 PM EDT April 2, 2018. After meeting Haleigh Cox, the little ...(Apr 3, 2018, 11Alive.com WXIA)

Grindr Will Stop Sharing Users' HIV Data With Other Companies

The popular gay dating app made the announcement late Monday, but also said that it was being unfairly targeted. "It's being conflated with Cambridge Analytica," Grindr's chief security officer said. Posted on April 03, 2018, 03:03 GMT. Azeen Ghorayshi ...(Apr 3, 2018, BuzzFeed News)

Medway resident to host autism awareness gala

MEDWAY - In the years he has been executive director of the Massachusetts General Hospital's Aspire program, Scott McLeod has seen an increase in awareness and acceptance of those on the autism spectrum. "From my perspective, there's been a tremendous ...(Apr 3, 2018, MetroWest Daily News)

Babies Given Antibiotics And Antacids Are More Likely To Develop Allergies

A new study discovered that babies who are given antibiotics and antacids are more likely to develop allergies as they grow up. The results of the research provide evidence on the the importance and delicate balance of the gut microbiome. ( Elvis ...(Apr 3, 2018, Tech Times)